Another 2001 Novels & Stories

I was going to update yesterday but forgot :3 My finals are starting on the 29th, and I don't know what to do. Wish me luck. The next update will be here soon. Give your hearts Daisy Chaseley

"Three. Ousting SH. Four, F******k." My lips parted, and I knew for a second my heart stopped. Of course, the numbers were the years. In 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes, two crashed into the twin towers of World Trade Center in New York City, the third into the Pentagon in Washington, while the fourth was downed in Pennsylvania. Who would forget that nightmare when thousands of people died? That was an agonizing time for everyone. In 2002, Mozilla Firefox was released, and... my brain got fuzzy. Why did he know all these things?

"That woman must have gotten a filthy illness like that because she's been sleeping around! Now that we've kicked her out, she's probably dead somewhere on the streets!" Charles chuckled darkly. "Easy. I'll just call her, and we'll know if she's dead or alive." I looked out the window and watched as the rainstorm turned into a snowstorm, and the temperature dropped even lower. The ice age was coming. I curled my lips. Was I the one who was going to die? I think not. Then, my phone rang. Slowly, I accepted the call, and the other end seemed to be surprised. "You're still alive, Jennie?"

I say as I nod and walk over to the desk. "Let me help you into your room so you can get some rest. Tomorrow is the second challenge, and I'd like you to be present if you're feeling stronger," I say as I quickly write a note back to her. I reach my hand below the desk, feeling around for any recorders or microphones, and find a small device. I nod at her and follow her into her room, occasionally checking in various spaces for other devices, finding a few along the way. "Do you remember when we were kids? We used to love hanging out in the treehouse," I say, hoping she gets the idea of what I'm saying.

When I went to the restroom, Tilda was waiting at the door. The way she glared at me, I thought she might swallow me whole. It was the same look she'd had in my last life, right before she ran me over with her car. "You must be getting beat up by Mike in private!" she hissed. "Quit pretending. You make me sick!" I laughed softly, then let my gaze drift to her arm, where tiny needle marks dotted her skin. "Oh, no, Tilda," I said lightly. "What happened? What's with all those marks?"

Joshua Lawson, my old college buddy, had become a private eye. "Dig up some dirt for me on Yoel. While you're at it, get the scoop on him and Sheila in Francoria since three years ago, the nitty-gritty, the more the better. Oh, and check if there's any record of Sheila having an abortion at any local hospitals." I hung up and stared into the harsh daylight, an emptiness settling in my chest. 'Sheila, I’ve given you more chances than I can count. If this is how it is, then all we've got left is the final showdown,' I thought to myself.

The rain was pouring, yet I heard every word he said. “You don’t have to answer right now. You can give it a day, a month, or a year to think it through, but I want you to know that someone’s waiting for you, someone who’s waited for you twenty-two years. And from now on, he wants to be by your side.” I looked at him and suddenly recalled that night at the Black family’s annual banquet, when I pushed open the door to find him. He, who was reading in the study, looked up, startled when he saw me.

My problems are trivial compared to theirs, but that doesn’t make the reality hurt any less. “Genevieve,” a hollow voice echoes. “Gen,” it calls. “Gen.” I’m in a trance, thoughts racing, neurons signaling. I’ve been staring at a picture of Aaron and Sarah at a yacht party for the last 5 minutes or so. A hand reaches out to shake me out of this daze. I only come to when my phone is powered off. “What is it?” I whisper. “You should take a break,” Staple says. Something I forgot to mention earlier: when I’m in the zone, outside stimulus tends to feel threatening.

He darted his gaze to mine before he looked at Fafaniya again. “I can’t believe it – how?” he asked. “It is fate. Amara’s the girl from the prophecy nineteen years ago. Also, she has the Goblin’s mark.” My fingers unconsciously traveled to my nape. Right, the mark. I could still feel his fingers on my skin. He hesitated when he saw it. I didn’t know but I felt like a piece of artery from my heart was cut and stolen and it was aching every time I remembered how he tried to take away my life.

A quick check of her call records, while she sipped on Brenda's hangover cure sometime after midday on Saturday, had confirmed that much. As she weaved through the hallways, Eden tried yet again to access what seemed to be her permanently deleted memories. But the only things her foggy mind came up with were Aleksei, the one half of the Russian mob, her subsequent fight with Liam and her first kamikaze shot in two years. After that, her mind was a total blank. It was almost as if Frankenstein had reached deep inside her head and wiped her brain clean. "There you are, Ms McBride!" Gibby said as she rushed to her side and hooked their arms, surprising Eden with the gesture. This was probably a